Wes Anderson's 'French Dispatch' delayed till October

Los Angeles, Apr 4 () Critically-acclaimed filmmaker Wes Anderson's much-anticipated film "The French Dispatch" will now hit the theatres on October 16 this year.

The Searchlight Pictures film was set to bow out worldwide on July 24 but has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has disrupted the entire Hollywood release calendar.

It was rumoured that the film would have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But the 2020 edition of the film gala has been cancelled due to the pandemic.

However, the new release date also gives a boost to its prospects at the next year's award season, which culminates with the Academy Awards in February.

"The French Dispatch", set in Paris during the 1950s, follows a group of journalists at an American newspaper bureau. The movie features Timothee Chalamet, Benicio del Toro, Lea Seydoux, Mathieu Amalric and Jeffrey Wright.

Anderson's frequent collaborators -- Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Saorise Ronan, Owen Wilson and Bob Balaban -- will also star.

Disney, which acquired several properties of the 20th Fox Studios, including Fox Searchlight, as part of its 2019 merger, announced release dates for a number of project that have been affected due to the pandemic. RB RB